växjö

• The city of Vaxjo, in central Sweden, claims the lowest per-head emissions in Sweden and the European Union, at 3.5 tonnes. The city aims to reduce this to about 2.4 tonnes by 2010. This compares with the EU overall at 11 tonnes and the US — with its many nuclear reactors — about 24 tonnes. To achieve this requires conversion of the city transport fleet to run on biofuels, encouraging greater use of biofuels by private car owners (the use of 85 per cent ethanol is doubling each year), organising more biofuel outlets at service stations, developing more bicycle paths and reducing household electricity use through increased efficiencies and awareness.